I have tried as much as I can to avoid writing this experience, but unfortunately I was not left with much choice.

Flex is known as one of the best Gyms for ladies in Kuwait. And with its recent expansion, it was clearly my first choice when I decided to join a gym back in February.

So I joined. And it turned out to be a big mistake.

The gym can accommodate a large number of members. The parking can not …

They have a huge parking problem. Huge. I’m talking you are better off finding a car park in Marina Mall on a crowded evening on the weekend than to find a parking spot for your car at Flex. I never knew about this problem. Had I known, I would have never subscribed to the gym. Apparently it started when a men’s gym opened next door.

Everytime I go there I have to circle the block for 30-40 minutes waiting for someone to get out. There is valet parking but the problem is you don’t see them because they are like 1 or 2 men trying to park every member’s car. To me, they are almost never around.

I have raised this issue to the Gym Manager more than 2 weeks ago and requested a refund. She of course gave me the “No refund Policy” reply. Then she showed me an abandoned parking place in the back and asked me to park there as it’s mostly empty. I swallowed my frustration and agreed to give it a second chance.

I mananged to park there once only. The next time I went it was completely full. I had to circle the block forever until I could not bear it anymore and I called the gym complaining. The manager came running outside to take my car and she was trying to convince me that everything is ok. By then, I have reached my limit and demanded to meet her inside her office. You can imaging all the mixed feelings of anger, frustration, and exhaustion that I had. I was furious. I had a very stressful day at work and decided to hit the gym to blow off some steam. It turned out to be the cherry on the top.

I clearly stated that this is not acceptable and I demanded a refund. The manager kept denying that they have a parking problem and it is my problem that I don’t leave my car in the middle of the 2 way, crowded, congested street and leave the key inside until the valet notices it! I told her this will mean blocking the whole street when no one will be able to move and the valet is no where to be seen. The manager clearly admitted the following:

• I’m not the first one to complain.
• They don’t have a parking problem. It’s they way people drive that causes the parking mess.
• When asked why they don’t inform new members of this problem before they join, she replied that of course she will not tell anyone willing to join the gym that they have a parking problem.

I insisted on a refund. She finally agreed to escalate my case to the management and wait for their reply.

The gym never called for 3 days. I chased them with my calls until I got the reply to my case. The reply was that top management decided that I can use the valet parking and there is no refund since my subscription is 3 months and I alomst utilized 2 months of it.

There was absolutely no effort is acknowledging or even trying to solve my case. They kept offering me the same solutions that I clearly stated are of no use.

Now I’m down KD260 for a gym that I can never go to because there is no where to park my car in.

There is one thing that I need to clarify here. This post is not an attempt to get the attention of Flex Fitness or its management. I already tried in so many ways to end this peacefully. I’m not the kind of person who causes chaos or likes to draw attention to get things solved.

This is merely a warning to any lady who thinks of joining this gym. If you don’t have a driver or somebody to drop you, you will be wasting your money and your complaint will be faced with negligence and ignorance, as long as you paid your subscription in full.

Via Reuters